Podcast

The last few chapters of Jeremiah are rich in wordplay and in detail, and in some ways are like an entirely different book. There are many pronouncements made against Egypt, which has often been used to mean the world at large, but pride of worldly power is singled out for particular condemnation.

The word of the Lord comes to Jeremiah, and he tells those who escaped to Egypt that Nebuchadnezzar will conquer them and they will not come back. Those who have worshiped false gods, and who have taken wives who brought in worship of false gods, like the goddess Astarte, known as the queen of Heaven, have left God.  King Hophra of Egypt was already having trouble before Nebuchadnezzar came against him, and he would indeed fall a little while later.

Some use criticism of this false god to impugn veneration of Mary, the mother of God. Certainly, we must make absolutely sure that the honor, which is never to be worship, given to the saints is infinitely lower than the proper worship of God. Worship of any creature would be a sin. We do, however, have the ability to ask any living person to pray for us, and similarly, we may ask those who are in Heaven to do the same for us.

Nothing more is said of Jeremiah at this point, but there is more to come in the book, including the letter of Jeremiah to Baruch.

God saw Judah falling away and decided to give Judah a test, which Judah failed, and thus He chastised them. How do you respond to the challenges that God gives to you?

Jeremiah is cared for in Babylon, and Gedaliah is left as governor of Judah, since he did not go with the rebellion, and since he was not taken to Babylon. A marauder named Ishmael plots to kill Gedaliah, and since Gedaliah won’t take efforts to stop him, Ishmael does kill him and all those who were with him. A while later, eighty other pilgrims come to give offerings in the temple, and Ishmael kills all of them, except for some who gave up their hiding places. Ishmael takes captives and flees toward the Ammonites, but Johanan recovers all the captives.

Johanan then wants to go into Egypt and seeks Jeremiah’s approval, and Jeremiah prays to God for guidance. God tells him not to go, but Johanan seems to have already made up his mind and goes into Egypt anyway.

Some in the military hear the words of Jeremiah, and they plot to silence Jeremiah. King Zedekiah, like Pontius Pilate later, lets them do what they will. They put Jeremiah into a cistern and left him to die until Ebed-melech, a eunuch, comes to the defense of Jeremiah. Jeremiah is rescued, and Zedekiah asks Jeremiah to tell him the truth, and Jeremiah tells him to surrender. Zedekiah is afraid to do that.

There is a breach in the city walls, and the city falls. The king and his men sneak out, but they are caught. Jerusalem is destroyed. All the people are carried off to Babylon except the poorest of the poor. Ebed-melech will be saved from his enemies.

The Babylonians approach Israel, and the people prepare for the attack. Extrabiblical accounts of this time exist in the Lachish Letters.

At this time, some people make a sacred covenant to free their slaves, possibly as a cost-cutting measure, but when the impending army seems to be less of a threat, these people break their sacred covenant and take back their slaves.

Jeremiah wrote down all the words that God had told him, and ordered Baruch to read them to those assembled in the temple. Jehoiakim burns the scroll containing those words. After this, the king seeks out Jeremiah and asks him what will happen and what ca be done at this point. Jeremiah tells him that there is nothing that can be done, and Babylon will capture Judah.

God declares again that He will restore both Israel and Judah, and declares that the king will be from their own, as opposed to being ruled from outside, and God will bring him near, as opposed to him daring to approach God. Even Samaria will come back to Zion.

Jeremiah prophesies consolation for God’s people after the exile, even the priests whom he has often prophesied hardship. The people will mourn for what has happened, and there is a prophecy about the slaughter of the innocents by Herod.

Jeremiah also prophesies that there will be a new covenant, one based on forgiveness, that God will usher in.

Hananiah proclaims that Babylon will be defeated within two years and the things that they ave stolen from the temple will be restored. Jeremiah says that this is not what the true prophets have prophesied about before, and that the people should not believe Hananiah’s words until they come true. Hananiah would die shortly thereafter.

Jeremiah tells the people not to wait to start families and prepare for their return, as the return will not come quickly. Jeremiah also talks about the bleak future for the false prophets and their families during those years.

Jeremiah prophesies in the Temple that the Temple will be sacked, and the priests and false prophets want to kill Jeremiah for it, but the people are persuaded that if they do kill Jeremiah, and he is a prophet, they will have innocent blood on their hands. There is precedent among the prophets for this in Micah and a counterexample in Uriah.

Jeremiah puts a yoke on his neck to warn the people of the subjugation Judah will experience, and to tell the envoys of Judah’s neighbors that they must all submit to Babylon or die. The vessels of the Temple, which the false prophets are predicting will come back, are in fact, gone until God restores them.

Jeremiah pronounces judgment on Jehoiachin and criticizes all the kings but Josiah. He also refers to the entire people returning to Israel, as well as a righteous branch of David who will rule there. This is a messianic prophecy, and it refers to Jesus. Jeremiah goes after the false prophets as well.

Jeremiah is shown a basket of figs, some good and some bad. These figs are like the people of Israel, and God will restore them to the land. The bad people, however, will be treated like bad figs by God.

Jeremiah sees a potter whose clay has not turned out the way he wanted to, and God uses this to explain his actions. God will rework Israel into a different type of vessel if Israel will change its path, which Paul would echo in 2 Timothy 2:20-21. This does not match what the priests and false prophets were saying at the time, but those people, both then and now are not guaranteed to proclaim what is in the Bible and the catechism. Jeremiah shatters a flask to emphasize the analogy.

Jeremiah is placed in stocks by Pashur son of Immer, and the people seek to kill Jeremiah, for prophesying things like Israel will be captured, but people will die unless they surrender. Even Jeremiah’s own family is against him, and Jeremiah is despairing more than at any other point in the Bible.

At this point, the timeline is interrupted and goes back to the reign of Josiah.